Another dome
by moonswirl
Summary: *part two of the Silent Ally series* Follows right after the first part...
1. Observing

Another dome  
By MoonSwirl  
  
  
Part two of my Silent Ally series  
  
Part 1  
  
"What are we supposed to look for, exactly?" asked Alex as he and the other three guys approached the new dome in the desert.  
  
"Some way in," said Max.  
  
"Well I figure THAT. I mean, something on the ground, on the structure..." said Alex, running his hand over the door with no handle once they'd reached it.  
  
"I have no idea," said Max.  
  
"Well... this should be fun," said Michael sarcastically.  
  
"It's not so bad. We COULD be stuck at home doing homework," said Kyle. There was a short silence, followed by the four of them quickly finding themselves a spot to start looking for an entrance.  
  
They had no idea whether or not they would find anything inside this place. But somehow they felt that it HAD to be something, the facts were slightly there. First of all, this dome stood alone in the middle of the desert with nothing around it. Second, it was in excellent condition, not one scratch in over forty years. It could have been repaired, but they doubted it.  
  
It didn't appear like anyone lived there. Which brought them to fact three, the dome's existence... It just stood there with no apparent purpose, knowing fact one and two. It was like it was waiting for them, in a way. They couldn't explain it, but it had run through their minds.  
  
They discussed these facts as they kept on looking. Alex and Kyle crawled on their knees, searching the ground that surrounded the dome. Max and Michael searched the walls, following behind the other two. They knew they must have looked silly, but that didn't matter.  
  
"Can't you two use your powers and just... MAKE a door?" asked Kyle.  
  
"Not exactly," said Michael, as they continued moving around, "For one thing, we have no idea what's on the other side, and two..." he said, then stopping in thought.  
  
"And then?" asked Alex.  
  
Michael took a few seconds, then said, "We are not making a door, so just keep looking."  
  
"Alright! It was just a suggestion!" said Kyle. Max hesitated, then spoke.  
  
"There's something I've been meaning to talk about and I think it's good that the girls aren't here..." The others were confused.  
  
"What are you talking about?" asked Michael.  
  
"I think... I think our parents are starting to realize some things." They stopped.  
  
"What are you saying?" asked Michael, "You think that... they know about us?" Max sighed.  
  
"I'm not sure... It was just the way they seem to be reacting to our 'field trips' lately."  
  
"I... I've noticed it too," said Michael slowly.  
  
"I don't think they know what's... really going on, but... they're getting suspicious."  
  
"So what are you going to do?" asked Alex.  
  
"I'm not sure yet... we have to figure out a way to tell the others without getting them nervous. And we have no kind of knowledge... at all... of what they DO know."  
  
"Do you think they would go through your things?" asked Kyle.  
  
"I don't think they would, they're not like that," said Max. They were silent again.  
  
"Well," said Kyle, looking around, "This gets boring very quickly."  
  
"We've almost finished, just a few more feet to go," said Max. There was silence again.  
  
"And what if we can't find a way inside? What do we do?" asked Alex. Max thought for a while.  
  
"I have no idea..." he said slowly.  
  
*  
  
"So everything's okay at your house?" Maria asked Isabel, "I mean... how's your mom doing?" Isabel smiled at her friend's concern.  
  
"She's... okay. She had trouble sleeping last night, but... she's okay.  
  
"Well that's good," said Maria as she tossed the remains of her lunch into one of the big bags they had been in. Tess looked at the dome.  
  
"Do you really think we'll find something in here?" she said, not really asking one person in particular. Isabel looked at it as well.  
  
"I don't know," she said, then as she saw the guys, "But we've got quite a show here, so at least there's that..." The four girls burst into a fit of giggles.  
  
"Maybe we should go help them," said Liz.  
  
"No way!" said the other three all at once, which gave way to more laughs.  
  
"Alright then," said Liz, sitting back on the blanket, next to Maria. "So do you really think we'll find something in there?" asked Liz, looking back to the dome.  
  
"I hope so," said Tess, "Or else we followed a non-existent clue... again. And we've had enough of those, don't you think?"  
  
"Got that right," said Isabel, taking her small bottle of water up to her mouth to finish it off.  
  
"Remember, like three months ago," Tess started, looking at Isabel as she spoke, "That article Michael had found?"  
  
"Yeah... he dragged us all to Arizona," Isabel responded, an annoyed look on her face at the memory.  
  
Out of the four of them, Michael was the most anxious to find something, anything, about where they'd come from, and she knew that, but she still hated running off here and there all the time.  
  
"And then we got there and it was nothing. It wasn't real," finished Tess, her eyes rolling up in reflex.  
  
"Was that the time you came into the Crashdown for work in a bad mood, back in July?" asked Maria.  
  
"Yeah, that was it," said Isabel with a nod.  
  
"I know that we've only known your secret for about two weeks and a half, but I think I'm starting to understand... your need to know... I mean, I don't know how I'd be able to live with no knowledge of where I'd come from, I'd be digging around like you are..." said Liz.  
  
"It's good to know we can count of you to help us," said Isabel with a smile.  
  
"You can, and always will," said Maria with her own smile as Liz agreed with her friend's statement.  
  
"Thank you," said Tess gently. The two nodded with more smiles.  
  
"So if we're not going to help the guys, then what are we gonna do?" asked Liz. The other three looked to each other and sighed.  
  
"Alright... fine," said Maria, "Let's go help them.  
  
"Great," said Liz as she got up. Tess and Maria rose slowly as Isabel picked up their trash bags and blanket.  
  
"You guys go ahead, I'll put this away in the Jeep and join you in a minute," she said.  
  
"You better not back out on us," said Tess with a grin.  
  
"Now why would I want to do THAT?" said Isabel playfully. Liz, Maria and Tess walked towards the dome as Isabel headed to the Jeep.  
  
She reached it within seconds and hopped in, soon stuffing the bags and blanket in the back. She picked up the second bag to put it with the rest, as an empty glass bottle of juice fell out, shattering on the ground.  
  
"Damn," she muttered, throwing the bag to the back. But in her sudden motion, she lost her balance, falling out of the Jeep, down on her back.  
  
She winced and turned to her side. At that moment, she felt something tear into her ankle's flesh. She looked down and saw the glass shards. Her ankle, all bloody, was dripping on them. She turned her head to the dome and began to yell for help.  



	2. Observing the observers

Part 2  
  
Ten years.  
  
That's how long I've been here, waiting. But waiting for what? I'm not quite sure. I'll probably know when I see it. I can't explain it, really... who I am, what I am, I'm not sure. I've lived in this dome, by myself, for ten years.  
  
Only I have not changed, I still look the same. My hair, my clothes... still the same length and all clean and in one piece.  
  
I can eat, but somehow it doesn't seem necessary for my survival. It's a good thing, I guess. All the food I've had has tasted just... not quite right.  
  
I don't know how I got here. I opened my eyes and I was here. Instantly I knew I had to remain here. Sometimes it's scary... the silence. But over the years, I've managed to take care of the boredom.  
  
I can do some things... and I know that most people can't. I close my eyes and I think hard. A few hours after, I hear noise outside, briefly. When I open the door, an object waits for me. Paper and pencils because I like to draw, mostly.  
  
I spend my days like this, drawing from dawn to dusk. I have boxes filled with them. It's strange though... these drawings often seem to feature the same people. I have never seen anyone... well, except for the people who bring me the materials, of course.  
  
But it's not any of them. Not the nice woman who always brings colored pencils, or the man who gives me the big gray sheets, the color of my walls. Are they the ones I'm waiting for? The people in my drawings?  
  
I wonder sometimes why I've never left this place and explored this desert, the cities around it... But I guess I have to be here in case someone shows up. Besides... what would I say? I couldn't say anything, at all. I'm not mute, far from that.  
  
Somehow, when I arrived here, the first thing that got to my mind, like a warning or something, was that I had to keep silent. Never utter even one tiny word, to ANYONE. I'm still not quite sure why that's necessary. But I've been silent for the past decade. I don't really have any idea what I might sound like, I've never tried to speak, ever.  
  
I have no idea why or how, but I know a whole bunch of stuff. It was just there. I know that I'm near Roswell, New Mexico, in the desert. I also know the story of the incident back in 1947 somehow. I know that I'm ... an alien. If there really was a crash... was I in there?  
  
But that's not possible, is it? What would have been going on with me in the 42 years in between the crash and my awakening? (Again, something I knew, the time...) I've ruled out the possibility of my being in the crash.  
  
That has been the question that's bothered me all along: What am I doing here? How did I get here? When that thought comes up, I usually lie down and sleep for a little while. But of course, my dreams aren't peaceful either. My thoughts simply follow me... and then I wake with a start.  
  
Just like now. I look around at my bed. How did IT get here? That doesn't really matter. I hear noises. I didn't want more supplies, so who is it? I get to my feet and walk to the small ladder. My room is beneath the surface. I push open the trap door and climb out. I close it and look around slowly.  
  
No one inside, but I still hear the noises. I walk to the other ladder, this one taking me up to a small walkway that circles the whole building. At this height the wall is different. I can see outside, through the wall. But outside, they can't see in. I don't know how I know that either.  
  
There are two cars parked near. There are people coming out, but they're too close together and I can't make out their faces. What are they doing here? They're sitting on the ground now. They're having lunch? Here? I watch them eat and now I can tell there's eight of them, four guys and four girls.  
  
They look happy and concerned at the same time. Why is that? I sit on the walkway, my feet dangling over the edge and kicking the wall a bit. I watch them eat. After some time, the guys got up. They're walking this way. Are they going to try to come in? They can't...  
  
There's only one way in, and it's the door with no handle. They can only get in if I let them... not yet. What if they try to hurt me, or take me away from here? But they wouldn't, right? They don't look mean or anything.  
  
I follow them from above. What are they doing? I guess they're trying to find a way inside. And then... I have this weird feeling, I can't explain it. It's not bad, not painful, it actually feels kind of nice... What's going on with me? I follow them again for a little while and then I get bored. I walk back to the front.  
  
The four girls are still sitting there. They look like they're having fun. There's that feeling again... Could it be? Are they the people I've been waiting for all this time? I'm getting excited... too excited. I can't get my hopes up too much, just in case. But what if it IS them? What happens then? What am I supposed to do? I don't know...  
  
For some weird reason, that information never really came to me. So how will I know? What if I show myself to them and they're not the ones I've been waiting for all these years? How would I get away from them? I'd have nowhere to go, no way out. And I wouldn't get a second chance.  
  
I turn back to the girls, hoping for clarity on what to do. As I stand there watching, the feeling, only keeps getting stronger. It's like a battle is being waged inside me. The part that wants to let them come inside, against the part that would rather wait for more proof. This is so frustrating, why can't I make up my mind on all this already?  
  
Wait... they're moving. Maybe I'll manage to get a clear look at their faces. One of them is up now, and then two more. The fourth one is picking up their things from the ground. The other three are walking to the dome, probably to go meet up with the guys. I'll get that clear shot in a second... just turn and...  
  
Oh my... it's her! She's one of the people from my drawings that's for sure now. It can't just be a coincidence. All right, that's it, I'm letting them in... I'll just put on something so they don't see my face just yet, and... I'll need the... okay, calm down now...  
  
I go back down the ladder once I've run to it. I return to my room below the floor. I pick up my 'disguise' and put it all on. This could be it, the moment I've been waiting for all these years. I climb up to the dome's ground, pulling on the last piece of my 'disguise' once I've closed the trap door behind me.  
  
All right, I'm ready for them now. I position myself behind the ladder to the walkway so that they won't see me just yet once they come in. I take a short deep breath and close my eyes. I concentrate on the door and soon I can hear it slide open.  
  
Okay... now, all I have to do is wait for them to come. I hope they're not too scared to come in if they see the door open, like that. Guess I can't worry about that anymore. What's done is done and now I just have to deal with the consequences. I just have to stand my ground and not show fright under any circumstances.  
  
I can hear their voices now, they're getting closer, they're coming... Just keep breathing... I feel like I need to tell myself to keep breathing... Currently, I feel that if I didn't remind myself, I'd probably forget to...  



	3. Going in

Part 3  
  
"ISABEL!" Tess yelled, as she was the first to see her, lying on the ground in front of the Jeep. The seven of them came running along the dome. The girls were in front but the boys soon gained speed and were right behind them. All wore the same look of panic on their faces.  
  
They reached Isabel just a few seconds later. Her face was very pale and her eyes were shut tight. They soon saw why. Her right ankle was a bloody mess, dripping on the broken glass pieces, some still embedded in her skin.  
  
"Is, what happened?" asked Maria urgently.  
  
"I... dropped the bottle... fell out..." she explained, the pain searing through her entire body making it harder to talk clearly, the words feeling like someone was jamming the glass in even further.  
  
"What do we do?" asked Tess, feeling like she was about to throw up. She had a small fear of blood ever since she'd injured herself when she was nine and this was NOT helping.  
  
"Max, can you heal her?" asked Liz slowly. He stepped forward and crouched before his sister.  
  
"Alright, this is gonna hurt... I have to remove the pieces of glass first, okay?" She nodded slowly. The other guys moved behind her for support, knowing how much pain she would feel in a few short seconds.  
  
Max looked around. Liz and Maria stood watching him. The guys waited calmly. Alex held Isabel's hand. Tess stood back just a bit keeping her back turned so that she wouldn't have to look at the blood. Isabel was still a bit weak, but was bracing herself for what was to come.  
  
Max sighed and put his fingers on either side of one of the pieces. Isabel shut her eyes. He hesitated, then finally pulled it out quickly and throwing it aside. The moment he began to pull, she let out a scream. Her face, her entire body was shaking at once.  
  
"Sorry," said Max shyly.  
  
"N... no, it's... it's okay, but just give me a few seconds to recover maybe?" she asked her brother slowly.  
  
"Maybe not a good idea. If you recover, it will only extend the pain," said Max.  
  
"If... if you say so," she said, strengthening her grip on the guys. "Do it," she said shakily. Max nodded and repeated his action, with the same result. Three pieces later, he found no more large pieces, leaving his hands covered in her blood.  
  
"Alright, you ready for..." started Max before he was interrupted.  
  
"Wait!" called Tess, still looking away, "Look!" They turned to see what had caught her attention. The door was sliding open.  
  
"But... how?" asked Liz slowly.  
  
"What do we do now?" asked Maria.  
  
"I'll heal Isabel and then we can go inside," Max suggested. But Isabel shook her head.  
  
"The door could close again, it could be our only chance to enter." They didn't wait long.  
  
"Okay," said Max as he rose back to a standing position. The guys helped Isabel to get up as well. It took three tries, the first two ended in her falling back down. Her face was tense as she finally found her balance on her good foot.  
  
"Alright..." she said, "Let's go." They walked to the dome, Tess, Liz and Maria were in front, Alex, Michael and Kyle helped Isabel right behind, and Max walked in the back. All of them could feel their hearts pumping in anticipation and they didn't speak at all as they came nearer and nearer.  
  
Once again, Tess was the first there. She put her hand on the door frame and looked inside for a few seconds, then turned to the others and nodded. They entered the dome carefully and stopped just beyond the entrance, which still stood open. This definitely wasn't what they expected. But then again, they really didn't know what to expect.  
  
It was just one room from what they could see. There was barely anything in it. There was a table and a chair pushed against the wall, about five feet to the door's right. There was a ladder to their left, which lead to a walkway that circled the room. They noticed that somehow, above the 'upper-level', the structure was transparent.  
  
It didn't take long for each and every one of them to come to the very same conclusion. This place hadn't been built by humans, there was just no way. Did anybody live here? If there was one or more residents in this dome, they didn't appear to be anywhere around.  
  
"This... can't be it, can it?" asked Michael incredulously, "Maybe there's a room... underground somewhere here." Max turned to Isabel, as if to heal her, but she held up her hand.  
  
"We have no idea how long the door is going to remain open for us. If it closes, we could be stuck here forever. If there's something in here, we need to find it before that happens." She was right, and they all knew it.  
  
"Will you be okay?" asked Max.  
  
"Yes, now hurry. We're wasting time as we speak." He nodded and they headed further in. Isabel hopped over to the table and raised herself into a sitting position on it. It still hurt a lot but she preferred suffering shortly, if it meant finding an actual, real clue.  
  
She raised her ripped ankle and placed it on her knee. She pulled back the leg of her pants that covered it. It wasn't a pretty sight, not even a tiny little bit. She could see minuscule little pieces of glass still sticking in her blood-covered skin.  
  
So she started pulling them out one by one, throwing them aside with a disgusted look. She did so for about a minute or two, then looked back up to see how the others were doing. The seven were spread across the room, all with their backs turned.  
  
They were slightly funny to look at as they searched. Alex and Kyle, figuring, she supposed, that they'd already been crawling around before entering the dome, had resumed their positions on their knees. Unknowingly to them apparently, their butts were sticking out as they crawled.  
  
Max was walking slowly, looking around the floor, sometimes stealing a glance towards Liz. She stood to his right doing the exact same thing. Whenever they happened to look at each other at the same time, they quickly looked aside innocently. Of course, being caught never stopped them from continuing this action. Isabel grinned as she watched them.  
  
Michael looked at the ground immediately before him, sometimes running his foot in circles around the spot, then shaking his head when he saw there was nothing out of the ordinary, and then moved on.  
  
To his right, Maria did much the same as Michael, only instead of circling her foot, she crouched and ran her hand on the ground. When SHE found nothing, she stood up and continued.  
  
And Tess looked as well, but Isabel could see she was still a bit wobbly from seeing the blood on Isabel's ankle. She imagined her face was pale and having trouble regaining its color at the moment. As a group, the seven of them just looked ridiculous.  
  
"Guys!" called Maria suddenly, snapping Isabel out of her thoughts.  
  
"Did you find something?" asked Michael hopefully as the other six ran over to her.  
  
"I'm not sure," she said, indicating what definitely had the appearance of a small door on the ground. Of course, there was no handle.  
  
"How do we open it?" asked Liz, "I mean, supposing it CAN be opened."  
  
"I really don't..." started Maria, before stopping short at the distinct sound of the only door out of the dome sliding shut.  



	4. First meeting

Part 4  
  
"Was that?" said Maria, panic beginning to show in her voice.  
  
"The door..." said Kyle.  
  
"What do we do?" asked Liz.  
  
"Well... we COULD turn to look at it," said Alex calmly.  
  
"Good idea," said Tess not really sounding very cheerful.  
  
They turned and at once let out a small, collective scream. Isabel turned her head to where their eyes were still fixed. There stood a figure. They couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman or anything. He or she was wearing a long hooded dark blue cloak, nearly black. They couldn't see his or her arms, legs, face... nothing. All of it was hidden beneath the dark velvet.  
  
He or she stood motionless beside the ladder to the upper-level. "Who... who are you?" asked Max slowly. There was no response, but they knew he or she was looking at them and listening. They approached, and surprisingly, he or she took a step backwards.  
  
"Max," said Isabel, still on the table, "I... I think he... or she... is scared." He or she looked to the side, spotting her sitting there. Soon, his or her head fell to Isabel's ankle, still sitting on her knee. No one moved for a few seconds. Then, he or she turned and started walking towards Isabel.  
  
She drew in a few short breaths. It may have seemed scared just a few seconds before, but it still remained that he or she still looked very tall and slightly menacing under the cloak.  
  
"H... hello," tried Isabel. He or she remained soundless, continuing to look at her ankle. "So... do you... do you live here all by yourself?" No response, but Isabel thought she saw him or her nod just a little bit. These attempts at communication didn't seem to be having ANY positive results... or negative for that matter, actually.  
  
Isabel could see, behind him or her, that the others stood, probably still in shock, just watching the two of them, apparently not moving up to help her. They didn't know whether this person was safe or not to be around.  
  
Suddenly, he or she raised his or her hand and stepped closer. Unsure of what a sudden movement to evade might cause in him or her, Isabel simply sat there and waited for what would happen next.  
  
He or she stepped closer and extended his or her hand again, until it finally hovered above Isabel's bloody ankle. Max and Alex both took a step forward, but the others stopped them.  
  
Isabel felt herself shaking slightly, but didn't make a sound. Before she knew it, she was connected with the cloaked being. She realized almost immediately that the images she saw in her mind were her own, and he or she was seeing them too.  
  
She saw herself emerge from her pod... walking in the desert with Max, Michael and Tess. She saw their parents, first meeting Liz, Maria, Alex and Kyle... She saw herself and the other three using their powers at many different occasions.  
  
And then she heard a voice. She soon figured out the voice was her own. But why? When she listened to the words, she understood... he or she was communicating with her.  
  
"How did you find this place? Tell me," her voice said.  
  
"We found a picture... at a dome that belonged to a man named Atherton," she heard herself respond, knowing the others couldn't hear.  
  
"Atherton... How did you know this place was here? It's not on any maps..."  
  
"A friend had seen it before. He's standing with the others."  
  
"What are you doing here?" asked the voice.  
  
"We..." Isabel started, a bit hesitantly.  
  
"It's alright," said the voice, and she felt calmer then.  
  
"We're looking for clues."  
  
"Clues? For what?"  
  
"To get home." There was silence.  
  
"I might be able to help you... perhaps not to get home, but... to discover some parts of yourselves you are unaware of..." There was a pause. "Your ankle is better now." And the connection was broken. He or she stood back to the side.  
  
All eight looked down at Isabel's ankle. It was whole again, and the blood had disappeared. Isabel looked up at the cloaked being. "Thank you," she said, her voice showing her gratitude. He or she bowed his or her head lightly, as if to say 'You're welcome'. Isabel lowered herself to the ground and saw that her ankle felt much better now.  
  
She walked over to the group and explained to them what happened when they were connected. She told them about the images, the message. "I think... in fact, I know... we can trust this person," said Isabel.  
  
"I don't know," said Max hesitantly. Isabel had an idea. She turned to the being.  
  
"Do you think... could you connect with him... talk to him, show him we can trust you?" The being nodded slowly. Isabel pushed Max forward, and he stood before him or her. He or she put his or her hand on Max's shoulder. The connection happened almost instantly.  
  
"I've been waiting for so long for all of you to come here," he heard his own voice say, "I'm glad you finally are."  
  
"What do you want with us?"  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you, I would never... I'm here to help you, that's my sole purpose."  
  
"Help us do what?"  
  
"That information will come in time. But not today, I'm sorry."  
  
"Why not?" Max asked before he could stop himself.  
  
"That's for me only to know, and you to find out... and like I said, that will not be today."  
  
"You're like us, aren't you? You healed my sister's ankle."  
  
"Yes, that's right."  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
"Ten years."  
  
"Ten years? How did you know we would ever find you?"  
  
"I just did. I may not have known when, but I knew it would come," he or she said before breaking the connection. Max stood there for a few seconds before walking back to the others.  
  
"So?" asked Isabel anxiously.  
  
"I think you're right," said Max.  
  
"So what happens now?" asked Michael.  
  
"I'm not sure," said Max, "I think we need to know more about... this person... before we do anything else. I mean, we don't even know if it's a guy, or a girl, we're dealing with..." Tess looked back to the being and found herself stepping forward.  
  
"Why are you wearing that? Is it necessary? Do you want to remain in shadows?" she found herself asking suddenly.  
  
"Tess!" called Kyle in astonishment. She turned her head and shrugged, finding no other way to explain herself. She turned back to the being and it was evident he or she was thinking.  
  
Finally, they saw some movement within the cloak. They were confused but waited. What came next was definitely NOT what they'd expected. The being lowered his or her head and... jumped... forward, landing on the ground, much lower than he or she had been before.  
  
He or she stepped aside, giving them a glimpse of very small feet before they saw what he or she had just jumped off of... stilts. They were bewildered, and again, the feeling grew at the next unveilings.  
  
Arm extensions flew out of the sleeves and landed by the stilts. Out of the sleeves came two small hands. The being placed his or her hands on the hood of the cloak and pulled it down, the cloak following suit as it was discarded with the rest. Their mouths and eyes hung wide open.  
  
Before them stood a small child, a girl, not more than four feet tall. Long brown hair framed her slender face, her small clear blue eyes... The person they'd been afraid of just moments before... was not more than five years old...  
  
End part two of the Silent Ally series  



End file.
